batavia

Press release:

Three Batavia natives are giving a nod to the city’s past with an exciting plan they hope will be a cornerstone of Batavia’s future.

Eli Fish Brewing Company will be the official name of a microbrewery currently under construction in the former JJ Newberry Building at 109 Main Street, the brewery’s owners announced today. The name is in honor of Eli Fish, who operated Fish’s Malt House, a brewery located on the corner of Elm and Main Streets in the 1800s. The brewery, which reportedly had the capacity to produce 16,000 barrels of beer annually in 1883, burned many times during Fish’s ownership, with Fish rebuilding it each time at the same location.

Eli Fish Brewing Company is led by Batavia natives Matthew Gray, owner of Alex’s Place in Batavia, as well as Buffalo Brothers Pizza and Wing Co. in North Carolina, Jon Mager, a third-generation owner in Arctic Refrigeration in Batavia, and Matthew Boyd, a partner in both Alex’s and Buffalo Brothers Pizza and Wing Co., who oversees Buffalo Brothers’ five North Carolina locations. The owners expect to open Eli Fish Brewing Company by the end of the year.

“Eli Fish was a renaissance man who played an important role in the development and growth of early Batavia, and his entrepreneurial and rebuilding spirit really spoke to us,” Mager said of the decision to name the microbrewery. “That’s the same spirit and vision we want to bring to this project and bring people back to Main Street.”

The brewery will house 20 taps, featuring ten beers brewed in-house and ten rotating beers from around New York State. Along with New York beers, the bar will also pour craft cocktails and fine wines, all sourced from New York State wineries and distilleries. The brewery operation will be a seven-barrel system, with all brewing performed on site, using locally-sourced ingredients.

Eli Fish Brewing Company will be the cornerstone of a $2.8 million renovation of the Newberry building into a mixed-use development with a restaurant incubator, known as FreshLAB, joining the brewery on the first floor and apartments planned for the second and third floors.

“Newberry’s was a destination for generations of Batavia residents,” Gray said, recalling the store’s lunch counter and creaky wooden floors. “We want to make this building, and the Main Street corridor, a destination again. Jon, Matt and I were all born here. Our families saw the decline of the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, and we want to be part of Batavia’s next renaissance.”

The FreshLAB restaurant incubator will feature three commercial kitchens, with Eli Fish Brewing Company operating the largest kitchen and serving a menu of locally-sourced seasonal fare, including gourmet salads, sandwiches, soups, platters and bread. The other two kitchens will be available to start-up restaurateurs to develop and grow more dining concepts within Genesee County. The vision is to have tenants occupy the turnkey kitchens for short-term leases of approximately 18-24 months, sharing the food hall dining room during which time they can focus on unique menu offerings, sourcing local ingredients and honing their operational systems, such as ordering product and paying their bills.

“The idea is to help other restaurateurs and entrepreneurs develop their businesses without the financial burden of outfitting their own locations right off the bat,” explained Boyd. “Once they have perfected their operation and their lease matures, the vision is that they will then plant their roots and continue their operations in Genesee County, creating an opportunity for a new eatery to locate at FreshLAB.”

The incubator concept was fueled, in part, by statistics that show local residents spend more than $13 million annually on dining and nightlife outside of Genesee County.

“People want a choice,” added Gray, who labels himself a “serial restaurateur.” “Every eatery at FreshLAB should bring a fresh perspective and their own culinary vision to the kitchens. We’re looking to provide a culinary experience you can’t enjoy elsewhere in the area.”

The partners’ development vision for the Newberry building is being supported by the City of Batavia, Batavia Development Corp., Genesee County Economic Development Corporation, USDA Rural Development, National Grid and New York Main Street.

The announcement of the Eli Fish Brewing Company name comes as beer lovers from throughout the region prepare to celebrate the Beertavia craft beer festival on Saturday, August 12 from 3-6 p.m. at the corner of Bank Street and Alva Place. The event, presented by Alex’s Place, will feature offerings from more than 20 breweries and cideries, as well as live music. Information is available at www.downtownbataviany.com. 

Super solid and spacious home on quiet centrally located Street. This mechanically updated home has really nothing left for you to do besides move in and make it your own.

This home features an extra large kitchen with oversized island perfect for the cook or those that like to make the kitchen their place to hang out. There is an extra room downstairs big enough for a fourth bedroom or perfect office/playroom. Upstairs bath is large with a nice space for "getting ready." Bedrooms are all nice size with good closet space. Furnace, siding, and windows are newer and brand new tear off roof as of August 2017!

A nice size deck and a landscaped yard make this one to check out. Available immediately! Call Lynn Bezon at Reliant Real Estate 585-344-4663 to see this home or click here for more information on this listing.

This brother and sister pair of 1-year-old cats are missing on Montclair Avenue.

Their owners had just moved into a new residence and about an hour later, the pair managed to slip out, so the owners don't even know where to look.

Both are spayed/neutered.

They've been missing since Sunday.

They are likely being shy and hiding.

If found, call Miranda at (585) 813-2428.

An unnamed man from Batavia faces weapons charges for allegedly bringing a loaded gun to the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport on Friday.

According to a report Sunday by TV channel WGRZ, Transportation Security Administration officials say a TSA officer spotted the loaded .380-caliber handgun in the man's carry-on bag via the security checkpoint X-ray machine. The gun was reportedly loaded with seven bullets, including one in the chamber.

Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) police responded to the checkpoint and confiscated the weapon.

Police and TSA officials did not release his name.

UPDATE Aug. 8: From our news partner WBTA -- Herbert Schroeder, 63, of Batavia, is facing charges after a gun was found in his carry-on luggage at the Buffalo airport. TSA officials say they detected the loaded .38-caliber handgun when he was trying to pass through security on Friday.

Eddie L. Miles Jr., 45, of Washington Avenue, Batavia, is charged with criminal obstruction of breathing, and torturing or injuring animals. Mile is accused of putting his arm around the neck of another person and obstructing that person's breathing. He is also accused of injecting an unknown purple liquid into a dog. He was jailed on $5,000 cash or $10,000 bond.

Ronald C. Palmer, 46, of Florida, was arrested as a fugitive from justice. Le Roy PD arrested Palmer with assistance from the Local Drug Task Force. He was located on East Main Street, Le Roy. He was wanted on a warrant out of Broward County for violation of pre-trial release terms. The original charge is grand theft, 3rd. He was jailed without bail pending extradition.

Matthew B. Hardesty, 24, Martin Avenue, Blasdell, is charged with grand larceny, 4th. Hardesty was wanted on a warrant for an alleged grand larceny in May 2016 on Narramore Drive. Hardesty was located by USAF Security Police at Niagara Falls Airbase and turned over to Batavia PD. He was jailed without bail.

Eloise A. Peart, 31, of Wilder Street, Rochester, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear. Peart was released on bail.

Jeffrey T. Garrett, 45, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with disobeying a mandate. Garrett allegedly failed to respond to a grand jury subpoena.

Sean P. Carney, 26, of Hickory Hill Drive, Mayfield Village, Ohio, is charged with petit larceny. Carney is accused of shoplifting at Tops Market. He was jailed on $1,000 bail, $2,500 bond.

Dexter L. Turner, 25, of Church Street, Medina, is charged with failure to appear. He was jailed on $1,000 bail. He was also arrested on another warrant and bail on that arrest was set at $10,000.

A harassment complaint is pending in the Southeast quadrant of the city, at 514 E. Main St. to be exact.

A caller says occupants of a vehicle in the parking lot of the 7-11 store were "calling her names out the window," of their vehicle, which is no longer on location. City police are responding.

A minor-injury accident is reported at Walnut and Law streets in the city. City fire and Mercy medics are responding.

Press release:

The City of Batavia Republican Committee currently has three vacancies that represent the south side of the City and are seeking City residents who would be interested in serving.

The requirements include being a registered Republican and residing in the City of Batavia.

If you are interested in getting involved in making the City of Batavia a better place to live and work we want to hear from you!

Anyone who is interested can e-mail City Republican Chairman David Saleh at salehdavej@gmail.com.

The Ricky Palermo Spinal Injury Golf Tournament is today at Terry Hills.

As part of today's event, there was a golf ball drop in honor of Joe Fragnito, who passed away this past year.

Tonight, there's a dinner, a silent auction, and regular auction.

Info and photos submitted by Darcy Catino.

Joe's daughter Jamie Peskor and Ricky's sister Patty.

*NEW PRICE* -- YOU ARE NOT GOING TO FIND A MORE UPDATED HOUSE AT THIS PRICE THAN THIS ONE!! CHECK IT OUT TODAY!! Super solid classic Batavia home in superb condition! This home has been lovingly taken care of for many years and recently went through major upgrades within last five years which include siding, windows, tear-off roof, electrical and insulation and hardwired smoke detectors! Literally all the major components!

Spacious room sizes, which include nice kitchen with cute breakfast nook and formal dining room and large enclosed front porch -- plenty of entertaining space. The woodwork in this home is untouched and beautiful and bonus hardwood floors under carpeting thru out home! This is a lot of bang for the buck and should be seen-call for easy viewing! Call Lynn Bezon today to see this listing or click here for more information.

Press release:

Today’s game between the Batavia Muckdogs and Lowell Spinners has been canceled due to wet and unsafe field conditions. As the two teams do not meet again this season, this game will not be made up at any time during the season. Any person with tickets to today’s game can exchange their tickets for any other regular season game, subject to availability.

Press release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) approved incentives for the $17.6 million Ellicott Station project by Savarino Companies in the City of Batavia at the agency’s Aug. 3 board meeting. The GCEDC Board also accepted an application for assistance from Gateway GS LLC, which is proposing to invest $2.625 million for a phase one development of a 25,000-square-foot spec structure in the Gateway II Corporate Park.

The $17.6 million development by Savarino is anticipated to create approximately 60 new jobs. It was recently announced that the first tenant for the site will be the Resurgence Brewing Company. This project would contribute to the Batavia Pathway to Prosperity (BP2) redevelopment fund and be eligible to draw funds out of the fund to support the project investment related to infrastructure and related improvements in and around the site which offers a “public benefit.”

As a part of the project, the Batavia Development Corporation (BDC) will submit a “certificate of consistency” and infrastructure development plan, which is a requirement to enable funding to flow from the BP2 redevelopment fund.

Savarino is receiving approximately $1.5 million in sales and mortgage tax and property tax exemptions. For every dollar of public benefit, the company is investing $21 into the local economy.​

A Rochester area developer has created an LLC and is planning to invest $2.625 million to build a 25,000-square-foot “shell” spec building at Gateway II in the Town of Batavia. The building allows potential customers the flexibility in final design while reducing construction lead time. The master plan will build out in four or five phases of 27,000-square-foot facilities, each on 10 acres.

The GCEDC receives several RFPs annually from companies looking for “ready to go” warehouse, distribution, light manufacturing, technology and office space tenants. This has been a market opportunity that the agency has been unable to pursue in the past.

The company is seeking sales and property tax exemptions of approximately $140,000. Since the incentives being sought are more than $100,000 a public hearing will be held at a date and time to be determined.

“We are anxious to see work get started at Ellicott Station as this is a major investment in the City of Batavia under the B2P program,” said GCEDC Board Chair Paul Battaglia. “The spec building being proposed at Gateway aligns with our success in taking the ‘build it and they will come approach’ at our various business parks which has proven to be a successful business model.”

The Holland Land Office Museum honored veterans in a special ceremony at the museum on Thursday night.

The glow Corporate Cup Race set off exactly on time in Centennial Park tonight in Batavia. The annual event is not just a race, it is a team building exercise for the area's business as well as a pretty nice festival for a Wednesday evening.

The race benefits the Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming YMCA. Whether they ran, jogged or walked, all of the participants seemed to have a good time.  

This years winner was Colin Mulcahy (16:23) pictured on the right, with Bill Buckenmeyer (16:55) coming in second. This duo came in first and second last year also. 

With out a doubt, most appeared to enjoy the "After GLOW" party better than the race itself. While the race had sizable number of entrants, an equal number of their supporters were at the park with tents getting the food, water and beer ready for their return from the 5K. 

Each business had their own tent but there was a lot of networking and social visits going on before and after the event.

The three-day trial of a man accused of sexually attacking a person on South Main Street in Batavia ended in his acquittal on all counts after the jury deliberated for 90 minutes today.

Kyle R. Shea was indicted by a grand jury in February on counts criminal sexual act in the first degree, criminal sexual act in the third degree, and first-degree sexual abuse. 

The charges came after an investigation into allegations that Shea forced anal sexual conduct on another person, and that the alleged victim lacked the capacity to consent. in June or July of 2015.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman said he didn't know why the jury reached the verdict it did and he had no further comment.

Press release:

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer yesterday (Aug. 2) called Canadian Ambassador Nominee Kelly Knight-Craft and strongly urged her to work with Canadian officials to persuade them to reverse the protectionist and restrictive trade policies that are currently harming the Upstate New York milk industry and farmers.

Schumer explained that the Province of Ontario and Canada’s federal government have adopted restrictive measures on the importation of milk products. These measures will cost tens of millions in U.S. dairy contracts. Producers like O-AT-KA Milk in Genesee County, Cayuga Milk Ingredients in Cayuga County and Ideal Dairy Farm in Washington County have all been harmed, he says.

Schumer said these policies are blatant violations of existing fair trade agreements with Canada. Schumer said this is an affront to current U.S.-Canadian trade agreements, and therefore urged Ms. Craft to push Canada reverse these unfair policies and work with the United States to keep current dairy trade agreements strong. 

“Canada’s restrictive dairy trade and pricing policies are blatantly violating our trade agreements signed by the U.S. and Canada, and they are hurting New York’s dairy producers who simply want to deal fairly with our Canadian partners," Schumer said. "That’s why I called the Canadian Ambassador Nominee and I urged her to push Canada to end these unfair policies and work with the U.S. to keep both of our dairy industries strong.

"These kinds of policies put our dairy farmers in grave jeopardy. Our New York dairy producers work hard every day to provide for their families and export quality products to the world – and they deserve to know that everyone’s competing on a level playing field.”

Schumer has long fought to protect the Upstate NY dairy industry and milk producers across the state. In September, Schumer urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Secretary Vilsack and the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Bruce Heyman, to continue to pressure Canada to end these unfair policies.

The senator said it is critical that the federal government protects the Upstate NY dairy industry, and that these protectionist trade policies should not be allowed to continually impair the value of fair trade provisions the U.S. previously secured under our prior trade agreements.

In the Spring of 2016, Schumer visited O-AT-KA Milk, Cayuga Milk Ingredients and Ideal Farm as he urged the USDA and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Michael Froman, to protect Upstate New York’s dairy sector from the then-proposed barriers to trade. Following that push, Schumer again urged these two federal agencies to ramp up all available resources to investigate new Canadian dairy trade policies that could hurt dairy farmers in Upstate NY.

The Canadian province of Ontario has already imposed limitations on American imports and recently Canada’s national government put out a proposal to expand these restrictions nationwide.

Schumer said that the Province of Ontario and Canada’s federal pricing policies, are designed to crowd out New York’s dairy sales and discourage Canadian cheesemakers from using imported ultra-filtered milk from the United States in their products. These new pricing policies essentially set the price of Canada’s products below that of New York’s ultra-filtered milk imports, which hurts O-AT-KA and Cayuga’s more efficiently produced ultra-filtered milk.

Schumer explained that Canada’s National Ingredients Strategy for dairy takes a similar approach to Ontario’s new Class VI pricing policy by incentivizing Canadian processors to shift away from using dairy imports from the U.S. Upstate New York producers have invested millions in order to be able to export to Canada because they have long enjoyed duty-free access for this specific product under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Schumer said these Canadian trade barriers have already started to hinder development and growth of the Upstate NY dairy industry. Companies like O-AT-KA and Cayuga Milk Ingredients, along with Ideal Dairy Farm, rely on trade with Canada for a significant percentage – millions of dollars – of their revenue.

As the country’s third largest milk producing state, a significant impact on New York’s ability to tap into key foreign markets could also impact farmers in surrounding states. Therefore, Schumer said, any reductions in export sales could impact NY dairy manufacturers and their supplying farms, which are already struggling with depressed milk prices.

Press release:

United Memorial Medical Center and Oak Orchard Health will host a regional event that’s part of the international Global Big Latch On, a synchronized breastfeeding event that will include thousands of breastfeeding women and their babies/children across the world.

Pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and their babies are invited to gather on Friday, Aug. 4 in Batavia, at 213 E. Main St.

This event is part of a global effort to raise awareness about the important health benefits of breastfeeding.

Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. and the countdown to the Big Latch On starts at 10:30 a.m.

The event will also feature a gently used clothing swap (newborn to 24 months), where mothers can donate clothes and/or find clothes they need for their babies.

The City of Batavia Fire Department will conduct a free car seat safety check and the Genesee County Health Department will be onsite with information on lead poisoning prevention and vaccinations.

The Global Big Latch On was organized by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action as part of World Breastfeeding Week to raise awareness of the important health benefits of breastfeeding. As a worldwide peer support and community development event, it aims to strengthen national and global support for breastfeeding and to improve the health of children and women around the world.

Breastfeeding is the normal way of providing young infants with the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development. Virtually all mothers can breastfeed, as long as they have accurate information, and the support of their family, the health care system and society at large. World Breastfeeding Week takes place Aug. 1-7.

Congressman Chris Collins, center, discusses the grant funding and runway reconstruction with Tim Hens, the county highway superintendent.

Genesee County Officials gave Congressman Chris Collins a tour of the Genesee County Airport on Wednesday, showing Collins what the recently secured Department of Transportation funds will be going toward.

On July 20, Collins announced that $2,926,222 in federal funding had been secured for the airport, located in Batavia, to resurface the center portion of the runway. The runway has not been resurfaced since 1978, according to Tim Hens, the county highway superintendent.

Collins said everyone was working together successfully to secure the grant.

“Without the federal government, you wouldn’t have it,” Collins said. “There’s no way Genesee County has the money. There is a role for the federal government.”

A lot of people wonder why the federal government gives money to small airports, Hens said.

“The reality of it is, you want to get some of the small plane traffic away from Buffalo and Rochester,” Hens said. “So, when you’re landing [large planes,] they’re not having to deal with small planes.”

Hens said they received the grant money Tuesday, but the runway reconstruction will start next spring.

“We gave the contractor the option of going this fall,” Hens said. “They said they want to start in the spring.”

There will only be a period of two weeks where the runway will be completely closed down during the day. The construction will be phased in and there will be a lot of nighttime work, Hens said.

Medium-sized business jets will be able to land once the runway is complete. Hens said the runway is limited to jets under 47,000 pounds, but once the restoration is complete, planes up to 65,000 pounds will be able to land.

The Genesee County Airport is perfect for a lot of businesses and Darien Lake Theme Park talent, Hens said.

“We need to make it convenient for corporate executives to get into Genesee County,” Collins said. “This is a big win. It is federal money and the county is not having to borrow money.”

Collins said the reconstruction will impact the county in the long run.

“The message here is, this is a county that gets it, is business-friendly and knows how to take care of infrastructure,” Collins said. “Whether it's sewers, roads, water or electricity, that’s what’s important to business."

For previous coverage of the grant funding, click here.